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missionary

[mish-uh-ner-ee]
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noun, plural mis·sion·ar·ies. Also mis·sion·er.
  1. a person sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities, as educational or hospital work.
  2. a person strongly in favor of a program, set of principles, etc., who attempts to persuade or convert others.
  3. a person who is sent on a mission.
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adjective
  1. pertaining to or connected with religious missions.
  2. engaged in such a mission, or devoted to work connected with missions.
  3. reflecting or prompted by the desire to persuade or convert others: the missionary efforts of political fanatics.
  4. characteristic of a missionary.
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Origin of missionary

From the New Latin word missiōnārius, dating back to 1635–45. See mission, -ary
Related formsnon·mis·sion·ar·y, adjective, noun, plural non·mis·sion·ar·ies.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

heraldevangelistapostlepastorpromoterpreacherpropagandistmessengerministerclergyteacherconverterrevivalistclergypersonproselytizer

Examples from the Web for missioner

Historical Examples

  • She at once inquired if she could be permitted an interview with the Missioner.

    Hubert's Wife

    Minnie Mary Lee

  • It was designed and built by Robert Aitken the famous Cornish missioner.

  • Puffin has been a Missioner, and he is a wonderful organizer.

  • Was it possible that Nada and the Missioner had not escaped its fury?

    The Country Beyond

    James Oliver Curwood

  • And she's got faith in me, and would go with me to the Missioner's tomorrow.

    The Country Beyond

    James Oliver Curwood

British Dictionary definitions for missioner

missioner

noun
  1. a less common name for missionary
  2. a person heading a parochial mission in a Christian country
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missionary

noun plural -aries
  1. a member of a religious mission
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adjective
  1. of or relating to missionariesmissionary work
  2. resulting from a desire to convert people to one's own beliefsmissionary zeal
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for missioner

missionary

n.

1650s, from missionary (adj.). Missionary position attested by 1963, said to have been coined by Kinsey (1948), who identified its origin in work done by Polish anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski in Melanesia in the 1920s; allegedly from the term used by South Pacific peoples to describe what Christian missionaries promoted to replace their local variations. By late 1960s it became the general term for this type of sex, formerly also known as the English-American position.

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missionary

adj.

"sent on a mission," 1640s, from Modern Latin missionarius "pertaining to a mission," from Latin missionem (see mission).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper